Synaptogenesis in the cerebellum of offspring born to diabetic mothers

Javad Hami1, Saeed Vafaei-Nezhad1, Akram Sadeghi1, Kazem Ghaemi2, Mohammad-Mahdi Hasanzadeh Taheri3, Mohammad Fereidouni4, Ghasem Ivar3, Mehran Hosseini51 Cellular and Molecular Research Center; Department of Anatomy, School of Medicine, Birjand University of Medical Sciences, Birjand, Iran2 Department of Neurosurgery, School of Medicine, Birjand University of Medical Sciences, Birjand, Iran3 Department of Anatomy, School of Medicine, Birjand University of Medical Sciences, Birjand, Iran4 Cellular and Molecular Research Center; Department of Immunology, School of Medicine, Birjand University of Medical Sciences, Birjand, Iran5 Department of Public Health, Research Centre of Experimental Medicine, Birjand University of Medical Sciences, Birjand, Iran

Correspondence Address:
Javad HamiDepartment of Anatomy, School of Medicine, Birjand University of Medical Sciences, Birjand Iran

Source of Support: None, Conflict of Interest: None

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DOI: 10.4103/jpn.JPN_144_16

There is increasing evidence that maternal diabetes mellitus during the pregnancy is associated with a higher risk of neurodevelopmental and neurofunctional anomalies including motor dysfunctions, learning deficits, and behavioral problems in offspring. The cerebellum is a part of the brain that has long been recognized as a center of movement balance and motor coordination. Moreover, recent studies in humans and animals have also implicated the cerebellum in cognitive processing, sensory discrimination, attention, and learning and memory. Synaptogenesis is one of the most crucial events during the development of the central nervous system. Synaptophysin (SYP) is an integral membrane protein of synaptic vesicles and is considered to be a marker for synaptic density and synaptogenesis. Here, we review the manuscripts focusing on the negative impacts of maternal diabetes in pregnancy on the expression or localization of SYP in the developing cerebellar cortex. We believe that the alteration in synaptogenesis or synapse density may be part of the cascade of events through which diabetes in pregnant women affects the newborn's cerebellum.